Memorial Day

It was a nice change of pace for Memorial Day this year. My family came in. This is unusual because I live far from everyone else. My parents took two days and drove out from Virginia and my sister and brother-in-law drove from Colorado. It was a house full of interesting adults.

I could indulge and talk about the family dynamic, but I won't. I've pretty much gotten through all the drama of the mother-daughter relationship, the sibling rivalry, etc. Well....OK....I still have some issues with the rivalry, but they didn't come into play much at all this time. I have more difficult issues with the rivalry and my brother, but that's another post.

Things went well for the visit - due to my mother's poor health (and rainy weather) we stayed around the house most of the time. For entertainment we played Rummikub, watched TV (introducing my Dad to "Good Eats" with Alton Brown), watched a DVD, planted some pots for the yard, and had a little cook out. Mom has trouble with mobility and she is sensitive to the weather, so indoor activities were the thing to do. My sister brought some of her collector's dolls for show-and-tell, which provided some good entertainment for a while.

Yeah, I like dolls, too. Not like she likes dolls, but we all enjoyed seeing her hobby/obsession.

We did get Mom out to JoAnn's for a few hours one afternoon. A limited-time-only sale, much cajoling, and lots of support (Dad, me, and my sister) all contributed to getting her out of the house. Mom likes craft things. She does some exquisite counted cross stitch from kits so she found a new kit for a future project while at the shop. She spent at least 45 minutes contemplating the offerings in JoAnns. She also found a gift for her granddaughter.

Mom uses a scooter to get around. She does well with it...the main issue with her mobility is getting her in and out of the house (we have a couple of steps at every entrance), getting in and out of the car, and getting from car to scooter. You don't realize how much you take your mobility for granted, until you lose it or try to find things to do with a person of limited mobility.

My sister and brother in law left on Tuesday. My parents left on Wednesday. I enjoyed their visit and it would have been great if they had stayed longer, but I'm glad to have my home back.

I hope to write sometime about these family members. They're good folks. I don't see them as much as I'd like, but travel is hard, I have work obligations, and travel can be costly, especially when you add on boarding fees for the dogs and the cat.

Nothing major planned for the summer until our friend Ann comes to visit.